One Shot, One Knockdown

Amber is communicating.

Lu Ban could sense that the priestess was communicating with the world.

Dazzling black patterns spread across her face, bare arms, and neck.

These patterns are filled with evil, filth, resentment, and madness; just one glance is enough to drive one to the brink of madness.

And those intricate and filthy patterns were spreading from Amber's chest toward her limbs.

Having seen a lot, Lu Ban could recognize it at a glance: it was pollution.

Or rather, this is the alienation brought about by pollution.

These desecrated patterns are the stains that Amber suffered when communicating with the world.

As she engages in dialogue with the world, the world also responds to her.

Just like when Lu Ban sings to the evil god, the evil god will sing back to Lu Ban.

Communication is never a one-sided affair.

Even without a response, it is still a response.

In this situation, when a world polluted by Corrupted Ones hears its own words, pollution will come knocking.

Nevertheless, Amber did not stop her hymn-like murmurs.

She made the sunlight pierce through the dark clouds, calm the wind and waves, and deflect the oncoming shells. Lu Ban saw that Amber's fingertips had withered, like necrotic trees, presenting a horrifying and disgusting state.

Lu Ban had never seen Momiji use Word Spirit before. Perhaps Momiji had, but it was hard to say who was corrupting whom at that time.

Therefore, he was somewhat surprised to see what Amber looked like.

Do the shrine maidens of Wa Island Grand Shrine all deal with Corrupted Ones in this way?

Before Lu Ban could think for long, he saw a cloud of mist drifting toward him in the storm.

The Gray Fog looked familiar, Lu Ban quickly recognized it as the Gray Fog of the Bandaged Man.

"So, it's possible that the Bandaged Man was among the intruders this time?"

Lu Ban saw the mist heading towards the window, so he grabbed Amber and pulled her back into the room.

Through the silk clothing, my hand touched a withered and emaciated body.

Lu Ban didn't hesitate. He raised his left hand and materialized his [Last Words] in it.

The mist quickly took shape, forming the form of a tall, humanoid creature.

It is dominated by gray mist, wrapped in bandages, and its single red eye emits an ominous light.

In his hand was a gray, sharp blade, which emitted a faint glow in the dimming starlight and the distant Thunder.

Flash spotted two people, one of whom was clearly his target: the witch.

The other person looked like a guard, not worth mentioning.

Suddenly, Flash saw the other party raise his hand. Although the hand was empty, the strong sense of danger made Flash instinctively choose to dodge.

But even though he immediately dodged, a kind of indifferent and grand murmur still echoed in his mind.

In an instant, the shouts of the sailors below, the sound of the waves, the thunder, the rain—all the sounds—transformed into a murmur that seemed to come from a distant, ancient time, lingering in the Flash consciousness.

He couldn't even stand steadily, let alone fight; his body was collapsing, and his bandages were about to fall off.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Lu Ban fired five shots in a row, completely engraving the murmur into the DNA of the Flash.

The Gray Fog surrounding the bandaged Flash trembled, constantly contracting and expanding, even flashing red light, like those dazzling nebulae.

Accompanied by these murmurs, the Flash consciousness began to melt, like butter on a hot pan, slowly turning into liquid, boiling, drying up, and becoming charred black waste.

The Flash body collapsed.

The bandages transformed into Great Serpent, and countless tentacles made of green smoke spread in all directions from their Gray Fog, misty bodies.

At the same time, a sound came from within the flash of Flash.

That was a different whisper than the murmurs that Lu Ban carried.

A more malevolent, irritating, and maddening whisper of an evil god emanated from the Bandaged Man's body.

Even Lu Ban found the sound unbearable. Amber covered her ears in the room, and as the pollution on her body subsided, blood flowed from her eyes, nostrils, mouth, and ears.

Almost simultaneously, the sound grew louder and louder, like a transmitter, causing the entire sea to boil.

Everyone, friend or foe, covered their ears, and the battlefield became quiet for a time.

But Lu Ban knew very well that this was not a good thing.

He didn't know if it was his Speech Bullet that caused this change in the other party, or if it was just a unique defense mechanism of this race.

Lu Ban switched the Speech Bullet and fired a shot that sent the Gray Fog out of the room and into the sea.

But the babbling did not stop; it even spread further into the sea.

Picking up Amber, whose consciousness had become somewhat blurred due to the Flash murmurs and the backlash of pollution, Lu Ban walked towards the deck.

The people on the ship began to regain their senses from the rambling, and stumbled Lu Ban along the way.

In this situation, his best option was to take Amber to the mercenary's small boat and then quickly escape the area.

He had a premonition that these Flash murmurs might attract something bad.

Upon reaching the deck, Lu Ban saw Ayame wielding a long sword.

How is she?

When Ayame saw that Amber had lost consciousness, she asked a question.

"She has been contaminated. I don't know if the priestess will heal naturally, but she is clearly no longer capable of fighting."

Lu Ban replied.

The enemy warships were already within arm's reach, and the tense expressions on the faces of the soldiers holding weapons on the opposite ship's side could be seen.

The boarding action is about to begin.

The ship was already riddled with holes and would soon fall silent even without anyone interfering. The soldiers' purpose was clearly to obtain the Amber.

"Go aboard our ship and follow the course on the nautical chart, avoiding pirates and storms."

Ayame tossed the scabbard aside and gripped the long sword tightly in her hand.

The blade of that knife was so thin that it seemed it would break due to air resistance if not swung along a perfect trajectory.

There were also inscriptions on the blade. Lu Ban couldn't make out what they said, but he could feel the power in those ancient inscriptions.

I'm afraid Ayame isn't an ordinary mercenary either.

Lu Ban had no intention of staying; escaping with Amber was his top priority.

He went to the port side, grabbed the rope, and leaped onto the adjacent mercenary's ship.

Because the ship was small and not a primary target, it was hit by only one shell and one dud.

As soon as Lu Ban stepped onto the deck, he saw that amidst the dazzling rain, lightning formed the system's cold and indifferent text.

[Hostile invading Chosen of the Gods found: 1/2]

[Kill the hostile invading Chosen of the Gods: 1/2]

Upon seeing these words, Lu Ban looked towards the sea.

He saw a huge dark shadow covering the entire sea area.